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Caitiff
Nickname: Trash Sect The Camarilla considers the Caitiff to be nothing more than expendable foot soldiers -- second-class citizens to throw at their enemies when the time is right. Some Caitiff cling to any sort of protection and acceptance, while others rebel at being treated as disposable and look to the Anarch Movement or even the Sabbat as alternatives. But it seems like every night more and more clanless vampires are made, and some have even unified as a "clan" within the Sabbat. At some point, they're going to make the Kindred listen to them. Unwanted and abandoned, the Caitiff have swelled the ranks of Kindred society in the past few decades. They are the results of mistakes, regrets, frenzies, and poor choices. Many are lucky to have even a vague recollection of their sire and the Embrace, while most stumble around with no understanding of what they are. Those that find a way to survive are the exception instead of the rule, and some of these Trash grow to become notorious Kindred in their own right. The only thing that the Caitiff have in common is what they lack -- the marks that identify a vampire as being part of a particular clan. Kindred scholars speculate that some sort of connection between sire and childe occurs after the Embrace, an "imprinting" that gives a Brujah his rage, a Nosferatu her disfigurement, and so on. For whatever reason, though, the Caitiff has none of these. They may be angry or ugly, but at best, they're a pale shadow of their sire's clan. Clan Disciplines Caitiff must roll for a variety of Disciplines at character creation with the supervision of a Storyteller. The Disciplines Caitiff can accrue are ones generally shared amongst two or more clans, they cannot have anything exclusive to a clan such as Protean or Thaumaturgy. Appearance As befits their checkered origins, a put-upon look often accompanies the Caitiff, who often have to devote much of their attention to simply surviving in a Kindred society that would prefer to sweep them away. Many are visually similar to the Brujah, Gangrel, and other "street clans," though this is more of an ethnographic characteristic than it is a clan attitude. For those Caitiff who are able to divert attention from their clanlessness, their appearance may well reflect the success or failure of their efforts to make a place for themselves in the world of the Damned. Havens As with their Appearance, Caitiff havens are diverse; many Caitiff have to make do with whatever haven they can find, or with whatever haven they can cajole another Kindred into letting them occupy. Caitiff make homes wherever and whenever they can. Basement apartments and abandoned tenements are particular favorites, as no one else wants these places and the Caitiff aren't likely to be booted out of them after having set up shop. Background Caitiff are primarily a development of the last century, especially the years since World War II. Alarmist Kindred point to the explosion in the numbers of the clanless as a harbinger of Gehenna, but more level-headed vampires see the problem as symptomatic of a breakdown in traditional social orders. Caitiff can come from any background, most of which reflect as much about their absentee sires as it does about themselves. Indeed, when among the more formal societies of the sects, some Trash take great pains to obscure the details of their backgrounds. Character Creation Caitiff have to survive on the streets with little or no help, and a few debilitating conditions that most neonates are in no shape to deal with on their own. While Caitiff are spread across the spectrum of mental, social and physical capabilities, those who survive longest often have Mental or Physical as their Primary. Streetwise, Subterfuge and Survival are common Abilities among Caitiff, but a Caitiff's experience and education can run the gamut. Clan Weakness In addition to being a "clan," Caitiff is also a negative title. Until the Caitiff establishes herself in a domain or social group, she is at +2 difficulty on all Social rolls with non-Caitiff vampires. When Caitiff Embrace, their childer are also Caitiff. Organization None to speak of. In some domains, Caitiff who fall through the cracks may establish themselves as the lords of broods of their own illicit Embrace. It's no surprise that these unbound rogues continue to give the rest of their ill-sired ilk a bad name.